Bread cutting machine



1949. J. MELPOLDER 2,478,159

BREAD CUTTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 12, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q a w Q I N VEN TOR.

ATTD RN EYE Aug. 2, MELPOLDER v BREAD CUTTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 12, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 B Q I INVENTOR.

(J/0A7? Meaaider amym% Aug. 2, 1949. J. MELPOLDER BREAD CUTTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 12, 1946 xii/ 1 INVENTOR. J0%27/Ve/ v0/cie7" ATTO RN EYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 J. MELPOLDER BREAD CUTTING MACHINE Aug. 2, 1949.

Filed Feb. 12, 1946 l2 INVENTOR. JoZnMel volder flajiam otented Aug. 2, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,478,159 niirinfi CUTTING John Melpolder, Grand Rapids, Mich. Application rebfiiaiy 12, 1916'; San so. 64i'l,ll3 a claims: 01. 146 -102) This inventiorirelates to animprovedcutting or slicing machine and theprimary objectof the invention is to provide a machine that will slice or cut bread to any desired thickness.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device that is simple in' operation; eflicient and reliable in use and can be economically manufactured. H 4 '7 With the above and other objects in view the invention consistsof the novel details of con;- struction, arrangement and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described,- claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is atop plan view of an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is an end view thereof;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the1ine3"3 of Figure 1; I I I w v Figure 4 is a detailed plan view of the swinging support for the bread} Figure 5 is an end view thereof;

Figure Bis'an' endview of the sliding support for the bread;

Figure '7 is a bottom plan view thereof; H

Figure 8 is an elevatidnal view of the gauge for the bread;

Figure 9 is a sectionalview on-theline 9--9 of Figure 1 and Figure- 10 is a sectional view on the Iine'Hl lB of Figure 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings the numeral 20' designates the baseof theslicing machine having the depending legs 22 at the "four corners thereof with thefeet 24 on the lower ends thereof. 7

An electric motor 26 is' secured to the base 26 adjacent one end-thereofand the drive shaft 28 of the motor 26 is provided at the end thereof with a circular or disc knife 30 having a sleeve 3| mounted on the shaft and retained thereon by screws 33.

Secured to the outer side edges of the base 20 adjacent to the motor 26 by fasteners 35 and covering a portion of the knife 30 is the guard 32 having the straight outer side 34 curved top 36 and the delivering chute 38 forms the other side of the guard.

The chute 38 has the straight portion 40 which is substantially parallel to the side 34 of the guard and the guard is provided with shoulders 42 at its meeting with the portion 40.

Adjacent the end of the base 20 opposite the motor 26 a pedestal 44 is rotatably mounted on the base by means of the bolt 46 and the rotary support-trier the brea'dis secured to the pedestal WPDESiP a The-support 48 hastheelongated center portion 52 and the v'vings 54 orm'ed on the forward end of the supportan'd' the ends of the portion 52 and wings 54 are curvedat 55 to coact with the knife 3twhenthe'support is swung past the knife for ting th eedi,

The wings sq arejraisu at 56' above the level of the portior jl to form a trackway for the sliding support fi fl andjthewings at 60 are lowered below the level of the portion 52 to receive the guide rails 62 on the' botto'm of the support 58 ldlacentthe outer end thereo'f; One of the wings is providedwith" a slotfi l to receive the pivot 66 on one of the guide walls 62 and a tubular spindle 68 is mountedontheopposite wing 5d and the forwarde'nd of the support 58 is'curved at 59 to conform with-the curved end 55' end of the sup- P 4 a .v V

A shaft 10' havinga pinion 12' on thelower end thereof-arida1haridleffl1on'the upper end thereof is ifr'iounted in thejsjpihdl 68 andthe' pinion l2 Iijieshes' w'ith the' g'ea'r' 13"rotatably mounted on the egun-sp n; re a ns e ppears, a lever 83 fixed to the' .ge ar 'lli byafpinm' is pivoted at 82 to; alirikflfl connected at. the other end to the Divot 615on tliesjipportjfl by the bolt 83. Thus misuser; the; shaft lfl 'by means of the handle le willfcontrol the sliding movement of the tsuit i .c 3 v Thewin'g's' 5 3" are? aperturedat 84 to receive bolts g6 whichfl l i a'e in elongated open ended slotsjil q'inthelower nanegesnpr the brea'd clamping-member's}! which a're adjusted inwardly and outwardly t gromme -releases of breads of various-"sizes; The; ineriibersilzj have'the upper flange-"9's e'iitefidilig' in thesaiin' direction and parallel to the lower flange and a gauge 35 is secured to one of the upper flanges 9 5 by fasteners 98.

A bracket I06 is adjustably secured to the support 58 on the upper surface thereof above the pivot 66 by fasteners 102 and a gauge 104 for the bread is adjustably connected to the bracket I69 by fasteners I06. The gauge I64 has the base portion I68 and the marginal flange H6 which is connected to the upright portion H2 formed on the forward end of the base portion 38. The flange is provided with apertures H4 and an elongated slot H6 whereby the gauge is adjustably connected to the bracket at 560 and a finger H8 on the upper end of the portion H2 extends outwardly therefrom to coact with the gauge 98 on the clamping members 92.

port the sides thereof as the bread is'sliced. The

support 48 is oscillated by the Opera tor pushing or pulling on the tubular support 68. The bread is advanced, by turning the handle 14, for the desired thickness of the slice. After the motor is started, the tubular support 68 and thus the bread is swung against the knife from either side thereof. Each slice that is cut is gauged as to thickness by the handle 14 and'the support 58 can be advanced until the last slice has been cut. Meat rolls as well as bread can be cut by this machine and each slice can be determined before the cut is made, The bread is held firmly by the machine and since it does not have to be touched after it has been placed in the machine there is nochance of the operator being cut by the rotating knife.

It is believed that the operation and construction of the device will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is to be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction, ar-

rangement and combination of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A slicing machine adapted to divide a solid substance and comprising a base, a substantially T-shaped support having an elongated central portion and a cross portion having transversely e after it has been sliced is mounted on said base.

extending wing portions, means rotatably mounting the T-shaped support on said base for oscillation about an axis perpendicular to said base, the cross portion of said T-shaped support provided with a curved surface having its center of curvature at said perpendicular axis, an electric motor on said base, a circular disc knife having a peripheral cutting edge and driven by said electric motor, the axis of rotationlof said circular disc knife being perpendicular to, and lying in a plane parallel to and spaced from, the axis about which the T-shaped support oscillates, said circular disc knife being substantially tangent to said curved surface of said T-shaped support at said peripheral cutting edge, a slidable support reciprocably mounted on said T-shaped support, said supports adapted to receive the solid substance to be sliced, guiding members on the wing 4 portions of said T-shaped support for guiding the solid substance, means adjustably securing said guiding members to the wing portions of said T-shaped support for accommodating different widths of the solid substance to be sliced, a graduated measuring device on one of said guiding members, a gauge device on said slidable support, means adjustably securing said gauge device to said slidable support to accommodate different lengths of the solid substance to be sliced, an indicating tab extending" from said gauge device and cooperating with said graduated measuring device to indicate the degree of adjustment between said T-shaped support and said slidable support and thereby the thickness of slice to be cut from the solid substance, a tubular spindle extending upwardly and perpendicularly from said T-shaped support, said tubular spindle being adapted to be manually actuated to oscillate said T-shaped support, a shaft rotatably mounted in said tubular spindle, said shaft having the ends thereof extending beyond both sides of said tubular spindle, a handle secured to one of said ends of said shaft for manually actuating the same, a pinion secured to the other end of said shaft, a gear rotatably mounted on said T-shaped support and meshing with said pinion, a lever secured to said gear, a boss depending from said slidable support, and a link pivotally secured to said lever and said boss whereby oscillation of said shaft causes the solid substance to be shifted relative to said circular disc knife to determine the thickness of slice to be cut.

2. The invention as in claim 1, wherein means is mounted on said oscillating support to gauge the thickness of the slice out from the bread of said knife, r

3. The invention as in claim 1, wherein a guard for the knife and a delivering chute for the bread JOHN MELPOLDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 913,879 Doty Mar. 2, 1909 1,798,113 Van Berke] Mar. 24, 1931 2,119,762 Wilson 1 June 7, 1938 2,305,117 Litty Dec. 15, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,122 a Great Britain July 7, 1902 

